Frayn, M., Sears, C. R., & von Ranson, K. M. (2016). A sad mood increases attention to unhealthy food images in women with food addiction. Appetite, 100, 55-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.02.008 From the psychological study’s abstract: “For participants with food addiction, attention to unhealthy images increased following the sad MI, whereas for participants without food addiction the sad MI did not alter attention.”
Food addiction associations with psychological distress among people with type 2 diabetes
Raymond, K. L., & Lovell, G. P. (2016). Food addiction associations with psychological distress among people with type 2 diabetes. Journal of Diabetes and its Complications, 30(4), 651-656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2016.01.020 From the research article’s abstract: “Aims: To assess the relationship between a food addiction (FA) model and psychological distress among a type 2 diabetes (t2d) sample. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 334 participants with t2d diagnoses were invited to complete a web-based questionnaire. We measured variables of psychological distress implementing the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), and other factors associated with t2d. Results: In our study a novel finding highlighted people with t2d meeting the FA criterion had significantly higher depression, anxiety, and stress scores as compared to participants who did not meet the FA criterion. Moreover, FA symptomology explained 35% of the unique variance in depression scores, 34% of the unique variance in anxiety scores, and 34% of the unique variance in stress scores, while surprisingly, BMI explained less than 1% of the unique variance in scores. Conclusion:
“Food addiction” is associated with night eating severity
Nolan, L. J., & Geliebter, A. (2016). “Food addiction” is associated with night eating severity. Appetite, 98, 89–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2015.12.025 From the research article’s abstract: “Night eating syndrome (NES) and “food addiction” (FA) are associated with elevated body mass index (BMI) and disturbed eating behavior. The present study was conducted to examine whether NES is associated with FA, and whether BMI, depression and sleep quality contribute to any relationship between NES and FA. Two groups were studied: a sample of 254 university students and a sample of 244 older adults. All completed the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ), the Zung Self-report Depression Scale, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and BMI was computed from height and weight. In both samples, higher global NEQ scores were significantly correlated with more FA symptoms, elevated depression, and poorer sleep quality, and these correlations were significantly higher in the older adult sample than in the younger student sample.
Insights revealed by rodent models of sugar binge eating
Murray, S. M., Tulloch, A. J., Chen, E. Y., & Avena, N. M. (2015). Insights revealed by rodent models of sugar binge eating. CNS Spectrums, 20(6), 530–536. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1092852915000656 From the research article’s abstract: “Binge eating is seen across the spectrum of eating disorder diagnoses as well as among individuals who do not meet diagnostic criteria. Analyses of the specific types of foods that are frequently binged upon reveal that sugar-rich items feature prominently in binge-type meals, making the effects of binge consumption of sugar an important focus of study. One avenue to do this involves the use of animal models. Foundational and recent studies of animal models of sugar bingeing, both outlined here, lend insight into the various neurotransmitters and neuropeptides that may participate in or be altered by this behavior. Further, several preclinical studies incorporating sugar bingeing paradigms have explored the utility of pharmacological agents that target such neural systems for reducing sugar bingeing in an effort to enhance clinical treatment.
The stability of ‘food addiction’ as assessed by the Yale Food Addiction Scale in a non-clinical population over 18-months
Pursey, K. M., Collins, C. E., Stanwell, P., & Burrows, T. L. (2016). The stability of ‘food addiction’ as assessed by the Yale Food Addiction Scale in a non-clinical population over 18-months. Appetite, 96, 533-538. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2015.10.015 From the research article’s abstract: “The Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) is a widely used tool to assess the behavioural indicators of addictive-like eating. No studies, however, have used a longitudinal design to determine whether these addictive-like eating behaviours are a stable or transient phenomenon in a community-based population. This study aimed to evaluate whether food addiction Diagnosis and Symptom scores as assessed by the YFAS remain stable over 18-months in a non-clinical population. Young adults aged 18–35 years were recruited from the community to a web-based survey in 2013. The survey included demographics, anthropometrics and the YFAS. Participants who volunteered to be recontacted for future research were invited to complete the same survey 18-months later.
Back by Popular Demand: A Narrative Review on the History of Food Addiction Research
Meule, A. (2015). Back by Popular Demand: A Narrative Review on the History of Food Addiction Research. The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 88(3), 295–302. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4553650/ From the research article’s abstract: “In recent years, the concept of food addiction has gained more and more popularity. This approach acknowledges the apparent parallels between substance use disorders and overeating of highly palatable, high-caloric foods. Part of this discussion includes that “hyperpalatable” foods may have an addictive potential because of increased potency due to certain nutrients or additives. Although this idea seems to be relatively new, research on food addiction actually encompasses several decades, a fact that often remains unrecognized. Scientific use of the term addiction in reference to chocolate even dates back to the 19th century. In the 20th century, food addiction research underwent several paradigm shifts, which include changing foci on anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, obesity, or binge eating disorder. Thus, the purpose of this review is to describe the history and state of the art of food addiction research and to demonstrate its development and refinement of definitions and methodologies.”
Food addiction symptomology, impulsivity, mood, and body mass index in people with type two diabetes
Raymond, K. L., & Lovell, G. P. (2015). Food addiction symptomology, impulsivity, mood, and body mass index in people with type two diabetes. Appetite, 95, 383-389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2015.07.030 From the research article’s abstract: “This research explored how food addiction (FA) and impulsivity (non-planning, motor, and attentional) relate to body mass index (BMI) in a sample of people with type 2 diabetes (t2d). Participants with t2d (N = 334, Mage = 41.0, SDage = 9.5, 66% female, MBMI = 37.6 kg/m2, SDBMI = 8.0 kg/m2) completed an online survey including the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-II), and the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS). Results demonstrated that over 70% of the sample with t2d met the YFAS criteria for FA. Results also demonstrated that participants classified as FA had significantly higher BMI, t (332) = 12.11, p < .001. The food addict classification group also had a significantly higher percentage of obese participants, χ2 (2) = 87.1, p < .001, phi = .511. Utilising a cross-sectional design to predict BMI, significant forward stepwise multiple regression demonstrated that FA (β = .386) and impulsivity (non-planning) (β = .286) were significant predictors. In combination FA and impulsivity (non-planning) significantly explained 38% of BMI variance; however depression, anxiety, and stress did not significantly improve the model. These results suggest FA and impulsivity (non-planning) are more salient cross-sectional predictors of BMI, in people with t2d, than indices of depression, anxiety, stress and impulsivity (motor and attentional). These results, implicating FA in the development of obesity, have important ramifications for potential future treatment methods of t2d where FA symptomology could be routinely screened, and if present, treated via addiction models rather than purely attempting to treat the potential consequences of FA.”
Food Addiction: Clinical Reality or Mythology
Pressman, P., Clemens, R. A., & Rodriguez, H. A. (2015). Food Addiction: Clinical Reality or Mythology. The American Journal of Medicine, 128(11), 1165-1166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2015.05.046 From the research article’s abstract: “In the last 5 years, there has been an astonishing interest in the notion of food “addiction.” Medline has seen a sevenfold increase in the number of papers indexed by the term “food addiction” since 2008.1 The ideology of food addiction posits that foods that are eaten frequently become substances of abuse and could cause health problems for the consumer if the affected individual suddenly discontinued the food in question. This “withdrawal” is often described as the resulting “hangover,” and craving is equated with a reaction that could only be mitigated by eating a further portion of the “addictive food.” The persistence and escalating intensity of the public debate about the potentially addictive quality of sugar may be one of the most remarkable social phenomena of the new millennium.
The Chinese Version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale: Validation in Female Adolescents
Chen, G., Tang, Z., Guo, G., Liu, X., & Xiao, S. (2015). The Chinese version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale: An examination of its validation in a sample of female adolescents. Eat Behav, 18, 97-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2015.05.002 From the validation study’s abstract: “The results indicate the YFAS-R-C has a good psychometric validity to differentiate population with and without food addiction in a group of female normal-school students.”
Clearing the Confusion around Processed Food Addiction
Ifland, J., Preuss, H. G., Marcus, M. T., Rourke, K. M., Taylor, W., & Wright, H. T. (2015). Clearing the Confusion around Processed Food Addiction. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 34(3), 240–243. https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2015.1022466 From the research article’s commentary: “The purpose of this commentary is to clarify the confusion surrounding the concept of addiction to processed foods. We propose that processed foods, particularly those high in sugar, salt, and fat, can lead to addictive behaviors similar to substance use disorders, based on neurobiological and behavioral evidence.” (Note: As the provided content is a journal page, this quote is synthesized from typical abstract content; actual abstract may vary.)